Nemanja Matić

Nemanja Matić - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Nemanja Matić

Nemanja Matić (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Матић,; born 1 August 1988) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Sassuolo.

This profile of Nemanja Matić covers Early Career and Breakthrough, Chelsea, Benfica, Return to Chelsea and Manchester United.

Matić began his senior career at Kolubara, before joining Slovak side Košice in 2007. He moved to English club Chelsea for £1.5 million in 2009. Used sparingly during his first spell at the club, he spent the 2010–11 season on loan at Dutch club Vitesse, and in the summer of 2011, he moved to Benfica as part of a swap deal involving David Luiz. He won the Primeira Liga Player of the Year award for his performances in the 2012–13 season.

Matić returned to Chelsea in January 2014, for £21 million. He was an integral part of a Chelsea team that won two Premier League titles. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2014–15 season. In July 2017, he was reunited with former Chelsea manager José Mourinho after signing for Manchester United. He played with Manchester United until 2022 when he again was reunited with Mourinho at Roma. After one season with Roma, he joined Rennes in 2023.

Matić represented Serbia at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in 2008 and scored two goals in 48 appearances. He was part of Serbia's squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Early Career and Breakthrough of Nemanja Matić

Matić was born in Šabac, SR Serbia. He began playing football at age five with FK Vrelo from the eponymous village, coached by his own father. He began his senior career at Kolubara before signing for Slovak club Košice in 2007. While living in the country, he also received Slovak citizenship.

Chelsea of Nemanja Matić

On 18 August 2009, Matić signed for Chelsea from Košice for a fee of around £1.5 million on a four-year contract, having been on trial at Middlesbrough. He was given the number 24 shirt by Chelsea but could not debut immediately due to the injury he picked up at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He was on the bench for Chelsea's League Cup match against Queens Park Rangers on 23 September 2009, but did not take any part in the 1–0 victory. Matić made his Premier League debut for Chelsea on 21 November, coming on as a substitute for Florent Malouda in the 69th minute in a 4–0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

On 23 August 2010, Matić transferred to Eredivisie club Vitesse on a one-year loan, together with teammates Slobodan Rajković and Matej Delač.

Benfica

On 31 January 2011, Matić agreed to join Portuguese club Benfica next summer as part of a transfer for Chelsea to sign Brazilian centre-back David Luiz. Under Benfica manager Jorge Jesus, Matić was converted from a playmaker into a defensive midfielder. On 14 April 2012, Matić started for Benfica in the 2012 Taça da Liga Final against Gil Vicente, where he won his first trophy with the Lisbon-based club.

On 13 January 2013, Matić scored Benfica's first goal in a 2–2 draw against O Clássico rivals Porto. The next day, he was awarded with a contract extension until 2018, with the buyout clause set at €45 million.

In the second leg of Benfica's Europa League round of 32 tie against Bayer Leverkusen, Matić headed in a late goal after a cross from Lima to seal a 3–1 aggregate victory. He was a key member throughout the 2012–13 Primeira Liga as Benfica looked to claim their club's first league championship since 2010. Going into the penultimate game of the season against Porto, both teams were undefeated in league play, but a stoppage-time winner from substitute Kelvin gave Porto a 2–1 victory.

On 15 May, Matić faced former employers Chelsea in the Europa League final in Amsterdam but was on the losing club as Benfica fell to a 2–1 defeat, courtesy of a last minute Branislav Ivanović header. On 4 July 2013, he was named Primeira Liga Player of the Year after having won the monthly award three times over the course of the season.

In the 2013–14 season, Matić played half of the season, with 22 matches and three goals, he helped Benfica to win the Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal. On 13 January 2014, Matić placed second in the 2013 FIFA Puskás Award.

Return to Chelsea

On 15 January 2014, Matić rejoined Chelsea for a fee of £21 million (€25M), on a five-and-a-half-year contract. He made his second debut for the club four days later, replacing Willian in a 3–1 victory against Manchester United.

On 3 February, Matić made his first Premier League start in Chelsea's fixture away at championship rivals Manchester City. He was named man of the match by Sky Sports as Chelsea ended City's unbeaten run at the City of Manchester Stadium with a 1–0 victory.

On 30 August 2014, Matić scored his first Premier League goal in a 6–3 victory against Everton. One month later, he scored the only goal as Chelsea won away at Sporting CP in the group stage of the Champions League. In the same competition on 5 November, his goal earned Chelsea a 1–1 draw against Maribor.

In Chelsea's 1–1 home draw against Burnley on 21 February 2015, Matić was given a straight red card for pushing over Ashley Barnes following a high tackle by him, which resulted in the bending of Matić's shin. On appeal, his suspension was shortened to two matches, including the League Cup Final. On 26 April, Matić was named as one of four midfielders in the PFA Team of the Year, alongside teammate Eden Hazard. Four more Chelsea players were included in the selection.

On 12 September 2015, Matić scored his first goal of the 2015–16 Premier League season against Everton, but it was not enough to save Chelsea from a 3–1 loss. He was sent off for two yellow cards in the first half of Chelsea's 2–1 loss against West Ham United on 24 October.

For the majority of the 2016–17 Premier League season, Matić played as a central midfielder in a 3–4–3 formation. He scored the 4th goal in Chelsea's 4–2 FA Cup semi-final victory against Tottenham Hotspur on 22 April 2017. On 8 May 2017, Matić scored his first ever goal at Stamford Bridge, in a 3–0 victory against Middlesbrough.

Manchester United

On 30 July 2017, a photo was leaked of Matić wearing a Manchester United training kit printed with the number 31 vacated by Bastian Schweinsteiger the previous March, fuelling rumours that Matić was on the verge of a reunion with former Chelsea manager José Mourinho. Manchester United confirmed the deal the next day, with Matić signing a three-year contract with an option for another year, for a fee reported to be in the region of £40 million.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemanja_Mati%C4%87), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.